Youth Flee Republican Camp

Here's an important and noteworthy graphic to show trends in the youth vote over the last few elections:

Greg Mankiw's Blog: The Youth Vote and the GOP

While younger people have been marginally to the left since 2000, this last election was a complete blow-out in this demographic.

Greg sees a trend in a fairly non-representative sample of students:

These particular students told me they preferred the lower tax, more limited government, freer trade views of McCain, but they were voting for Obama on the basis of foreign policy and especially social issues like abortion. The choice of a social conservative like Palin as veep really turned them off McCain.

I don't think this phenomenon is limited to Harvard undergrads. My own perspective as a 26-year old card-carrying Republican who just voted for Obama is the same - and its the same I'm hearing from my other friends who tend to be conservative on fiscal issues and libertarian on social issues. Its not just about abortion and marginal tax rates either, its other social issues like anti-gay marriage amendments, the (increasingly-global) war on drugs, and the war on terror that have driven us running and screaming from the Republican party.

We're optimistic about the future - we have more faith in our neighbors than we have in our representatives. So, the tactics of fear and xenophobia are not just ineffective, they have a repelling effect on our oddly libertarian worldview.

In the future, a socially liberal and fiscally conservative party will have a good chance to dominant popular opinion. In the meantime, we are likely to be disappointed at all the hope for change we've naively placed in Obama and Biden.

McCain and Hillary Dominate Super Tuesday

...and the blogosphere reels in defeat - yet again

Bad news bloggers! Hillary won. McCain won.

This means the pulse of the internet isn't swaying the voting booth yet. The influence might not play out until the general election, but the only ones who could possibly get excited about a McCain - Hillary matchup are the diehard partisan hacks who could care less what new media thinks about it all.

Wow, what a disappointing day.


FoxNews is reporting right now even that Republicans want a more conservative candidate.

I'm not exactly sure how McCain pulled it off or how he's drawing in independent voter support. I hear people respect his honesty, but he's so pessimistic that I'd rather hear a different honest plan. I know America is in a tough spot, but he doesn't have a message of hard work and overcoming those obstacles, he seems resigned to defeat, resigned to more wars, and ready to capitulate in commerce.

Romney is trying to push the "positive" campaign, but his lines sound like tired cliches.

Huckabee of course, just won't give up. Ron Paul is hanging in, but any hopes of a brokered convention were voted out on Super Tuesday.

The Election of Change Promises More of the Same

The more I hear Obama and Hillary talking about change, the more cynical I become about politics. Sure, having a woman or a minority would be a superficial change from the image of what we expect a president to be, but how much change will they accomplish when they take money from the same corporations that they claim to stand up against?

The donations are open records, and so are the candidates' legislative records: And there's a similar pattern of funneling big bucks to these corporate donors among all of the so-called front-runners. In fact, its the two who use the "change" theme so effectively that have been the best at collecting money from those who want to preserve the status quo.

Basically, running a mainstream political campaign today is just being cheered to rant against the companies that pay your bills. If that's the case, I'll cut these oil, pharmaceutical, and weapons manufacturers a deal: I'll rant against you for the low low price of only $10,000.

I'll be waiting by my email for offers, but I have a funny feeling they're only hiring critics with the power to spend tax money.

Hillary Campaigning in Arizona Amid MLK Controversy

Hillary seems to be actively using race to ... win votes? I'm not so sure. Her latest stunts in Arizona might be causing a bit of a backlash. While touring Hispanic neighborhoods, she compared the housing market to chips and guacamole. I wish I was kidding, but I'm not.

Of course, no Clinton campaign stunt is complete without huge promises, and today she promises that "No woman is illegal." Is Hillary Clinton trying to cover the politically unpopular policy of amnesty with feminism?

Of course, this is all happening in the wake of comments that Barack Obama characterized as racially insensitive.

It almost seems like Hillary's across-the-board pandering and "folksy" racial humor is starting to catch up with her...

Race Issues Working Against Ron Paul, Hillary Clinton

Typically in America, one would expect issues of race to weigh against minorities in a popularity contest like politics. In the 2008 primary election season, quite the opposite phenomenon is developing. Just a few have dared to make an issue out of Obama's race, and it doesn't seem to work as he's staying near the lead and avoiding any negative coverage in the press. The ones who are currently suffering scrutiny over the issue are Hillary Clinton and Ron Paul.

Vast right-wing conspiracy not against Clinton, but Paul

So, is Ron Paul a racist, or a horrible staff manager? Either one is a good enough reason for me that he should not be president, but I'll be voting for him anyway because his message of constitutional federalism and military non-intervention makes a lot more sense than the socialist spending and empire building that the country can no longer afford.

But at some point, to protect this message, we have to distance ourselves from those who would undermine it by giving it a bad name or a negative association.

Giuliani is a Popular Guy - To Make Fun of

One of the best ways to deal with the horror of politics is to insult the living hell out of those politicians who drive you crazy. This is why I love Death by 1000 Papercuts:

DBKP - Worldwide Leader in Weird: Iowa's Forgotten Man: Rudy Giuliani Parodies

Special thanks to Rudy Giuliani as well for his early implosion and easily satirized 9-11 campaign.

Free speech is fun, if you're doing it right.

Obama's Strong Win

pygalgia: Analyzing the First Inning

Pyalgia has a good analysis of the Iowa results (maybe he should be a pundit or something - oh wait, he is, thank god for the blog-o-sphere).

I am impressed and also somewhat excited about Obama's victory, even as I personally identify as small government conservative. Why? Well, the Republican party isn't offering fiscal restraint or personal liberty anymore - its just about religion and war. Sorry, I'm not very interested in that.

The demographic breakdowns that Pygalgia explains are very telling to the sources of Obama's support. Many candidates get noticed because of their appeal to the youth vote (Dean, Ron Paul, Kucinich & others come to mind), but Obama has actually managed to get the younger voters to show up.

Does Obama really represent change? Maybe not in a substantive policy sense. His advisors and campaign staff are mostly comprised of ex-Clinton era establishment Democrats, and he shares a lot of corporate sponsorship with Hillary. But, at the very least, he's willing to put his proposals up for scrutiny and admit that his first plan may not be the best one. He's not running on a platform of regulating personal behavior (cough, Huckabee, cough), and he is one of the only candidates to admit the fact that the first thing any medical reform in this country needs to focus on is reducing costs

Working to cut costs in healthcare is more "conservative" than Bush's $100 billion / year pharmaceutical subsidy. But I remain skeptical, will he really stand up to the lawyers, insurers, and FDA?

An Anti-Hillary Blog Takes a Second Look at Ron Paul

Anyone But Hillary in 2008!: Could I have been WRONG about Ron Paul?

Its easy to dismiss Ron Paul when his soundbytes are taken out of context or you're constantly being reminded by official media reports that he's: unelectable, unreasonable, or unworthy of serious consideration.

But there is something past all that. There's a serious and principled politician (what a rarity!) who has sound plans to create significant change.

Over at "Anyone But Hillary in 2008," the author takes a second look at Ron Paul's position on the issues, and like a lot of us, he's realizing that its not so easy to dismiss once you start to see some of the details.

Dick Polman's American Debate: Iran report? What Iran report?

Dick Polman's American Debate: Iran report? What Iran report?
What does the recent NIE report that Iran has no nuclear weapons program tell us in this election?

Well, it says a lot about Huckabee!

Not only is Huckabee failing to stay up to date on foreign policy and intelligence developments, he's also showing his Bush-like tendency to cherry-pick reports that back his hawkish tendencies.

Despite being informed about the report, Huckabee still insists that Iran is a grave threat. I think Bush actually made a similar claim yesterday.

Oh, and just so Dick Polman knows: Not all us Republicans are trying to sweep this under the rug. I think a lot of righties woke up to this news today realizing we need to find a better front-runner (again). Kinda tough, we've been given some pretty slim pickings.

gay news blog: Clinton Campaign Announces Launch Of LGBT Americans For Hillary Steering Committee

gay news blog: Clinton Campaign Announces Launch Of LGBT Americans For Hillary Steering Committee

CNN Accused of Clinton plant at CNN debate (Brigadier General Keith Kerr)

Elections Censorship Starts a Buzz

Sean Hannity's political discussion forums have come out with a new policy to ban any Ron Paul threads. Apparently, this rule only applied to threads that say good things about Ron Paul, because the ones bashing him have been unaffected.

However, censorship doesn't work as well as it used to thanks to the internet. You can see the pictures of Ron Paul censored or contribute to the discussion at Digg.

Email isn't in the Constitution, Silly

So why would you assume you have any "privacy" in any sort of electronic communication? Cell phones, email, blogs, IMs, telephones, and pagers didn't exist when the constitution was written, so the government is arguing that you don't have any rights in regards to these forms of communication.
Email Privacy

Giuliani Flunks Civics 101 at the NRA - Saved by Phone Call

Giuliani decided it would be a good idea to go talk to the NRA and re-invent himself as a friend of the bill of rights and the general rights of the people.

If it wasn't for the phone-call in the middle of the speech, he might have revealed that Giuliani doesn't know the bill of rights

Don't Get Excited Republicans

I ain't voting for you either. Its just a lot more self-explanatory.

I Can't Vote for a Democrat in 2008

Personally, its because I see them taking political and campaign donations from the same companies that they accuse conservatives of being "bought by" and then under the pretext of "giving to the poor" they proceed to divert hundreds of billions of dollars into their favorite insurance companies, drug companies, and media companies.

I despise the fact that they can look at a failed product like U.S. health insurance and health care and insist not only that I fund this with 10% of a budget I don't have to begin with, but also that I have to go to the doctor. I don't vote for people who want me to pay them so they can treat me like a kid.

I won't vote for a party that claims to be pro-choice but then doesn't want to let parents choose how to spend their tax dollars on picking a school. Gee, why would a pro-government party want to insist that only government run schools should be "free"?

And whats with the false sense of "free money and stuff" anyway? At the end of the day, you can tax the richest people, the corporate owners, and its just going to mean fewer raises and fewer job creation opportunities or fewer profits for the people who are responsible enough to invest their money.

But remember, the corporations buy the politicians to GET money - this is why Democrats inevitably tax the poor. In nine months of power they have proposed two new taxes - a gas tax and a cigarette tax. Both taxes are on the end product and not the company making the item, so in the end - poor people pay a higher % of their income to pay the new tax.

Thats how it always is unfortunately.


I guess you could say, I won't vote for a mainstream Democrat for the same reason I won't vote for a mainstream Republican. These policies are virtually identical in their ultimate economic/demographic effect. Its just the story that changes...

Hillary's New Plan: You HAVE to Buy Insurance

It sounds great when at the end of the day every has to have insurance. What isn't quite so clear is how this is supposed to stop insurance companies from providing profit-driven care that has little incentive to a cure and every incentive toward building chronically ill life-time customers.

Hillary Clinton's new health-care plan will cost the taxpayers at least a hundred billion dollars a year and it will probably result in higher insurance premiums for people who have relatively good health.

Personally, I've never been healthier since I stopped going to the doctors but I guess they found a way to make me pay for the insurance, drugs, lawyers, and doctors anyway.

(Not) Back to School Again

Fall 2007 - I feel like I should be back at school and in a way I also feel like I am back at school even though I'm not enrolled. I'm not even sure if the local community college has courses in web site design, server/database programming, and SEO, but I'm motivated enough to learn and the internet is a powerful enough library that I'm not sure I need to spend the money and time on classes. Unfortunately, for all my love of learning that degree still carries a lot of weight in the job market. Political science and theories on liberty in society will always be my passion, but without signing up for a mainstream party affiliation there's not much of a job prospect in that.

But one day a career path did finally become clear, and I had to look no further than the writers who had inspired my political philosophies: Publishing.

Publishing is the market of ideas - where plans and thoughts are advertised, sold, and bought. The world has never been the same since this market opened up with the first commercially viable printing presses, and I daresay the progress is overwhelming. It is a powerful industry, and one not to be entered into lightly - the capital you trade influences the collective conscious and alters the path of human history.

Some do it for the money, some do it for the art, and some do it because they think (perhaps naively) that they can make tomorrow better than today.

So This is the Web

So I've been on the internet for a dozen years and I've been online even longer than that but here I am only now getting into the actual act of building a "web presence."

I learned some HTML back in the day and ran a few sites off free webhosts, but there wasn't much of a community in it. A few good communities existed, but they were isolated and many fell apart from just a small bit of competition. Now, the internet is "the last growth market" and it continues to promise expansion for the next few decades. The communities have grown as the population has, and now its like web site developers can have communities of their own!

So this is blogging, huh? Sure I will always have nostalgia for the dial-up gaming days, but now we have Ventrilo and cable-speeds and graphics that were once inconceivable. I'll never forget the first online, local messageboards but now we have blogs and social bookmarking websites and forums and IRC.